If you are hearing less than you used to, take a measure of comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. About 10 percent of Americans have some hearing loss, and the figure is more than 30 percent for persons over age 65.

The most important thing you can do to assure yourself high-quality medical care is to form a strong relationship with a good primary care physician and, at times, together make informed decisions on specialty care.

We advise consumers to select physicians who are “board certified,” and we report on board certification status in our ratings tables. We describe here what board certification means and why it is important.

Ads from LASIK surgery outfits promise that the procedure is “a permanent solution for vision correction.” “Make corrective eyewear a thing of the past.” And “over 98 percent of patients are totally satisfied.” Unfortunately, those claims stretch the truth.